Merchandising machine for frozen comestibles



March 16, 1954 c. GABRIELSEN ET AL MERCHANDISING MACHINE FOR FROZEN COMESTIBLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 19, 1952 INVENTOR. 672/5774 GHBE/ELS'EA/ ZLMKIE P P057- 2% L $12M;

TTOP EV March 16, 1954 c. GABRIELSEN ET AL MERCHANDISING MACHINE FOR FROZEN COMESTIBLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 19, 1952 INVENTOR. CHRIST/91V GfiBE/ELSE/V W/LMAR E. Posr krrop/v'sr March 16, 1954 c. GABRIELSEN ET AL MERCHANDISING MACHINE FOR FROZEN COMESTIBLEIS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec.

INVENTOR.

March 16, 1954 c. GABRIELSEN ET AL MERCHANDISING MACHINE FOR FROZEN COMESTIBLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 19, 1952 m m m m A TTOEA E Y Patented Mar. 16, 1954 anormnm'smc MACHINE FOR FROZEN VOOMESTIBLES .Qhr t a Gsh ielseh nta n L k s s d 7 never, ahs igho s toittow s u ae ui n 1e,, Whiphanv, N, J

corpgration ofj'New York Application December 19, 1952, Serial No. 326,980

.6 .Clairns.

Our invention relates t0 an improved nerchandising machine for frozen cernestihles, and

more particularly to a merchandising machine adapted to vend in successiona large number of frozen comestiblessuch asice cream bars, Popsicles and the like from a refrigerated compartment.

There are many froeen cornestihles available to the consuming public. lihese take the form of ice cream sandwiches, {Eskimo Pies, fiiope sicles and the like. A Popsicle, for example, is icecream provided with a confectionary coating frozen on a stick. The frozen ecmestihle must be kept at a-reducedmperatnre to prevent it f om m ghe .s. shs s z heartisles ar u h' het the eredili zt i iildh e i e hant he maehihessf the art are complicated a dc" a d a e i d s vehsle i comestibles. Then too for frozen eom-estihles of the. p t d. hyn... a al of e ze eomes hle wil t e d-i er eomes s cu ii-m eohshmihaehd herds..- some task to clean-the machine.

One object of ou inveni ohis previee an improved merchandising tmaehine for -frgzen comestibles having a large pae ty.

Another object of our ntion; is .--t e prcyipie a i proved e handise ama h fm vendin frozen comestibles which easy to -;load and which is convenientto clean.

A he O jectOf v.eh eh i t e ,-previde an improved frozen comestible merchandising machine which is-ine xpensive to construct and simple in operation.

Gtherand further objeetsefsou vention will app r f m the fe wihs-d scri iieh- In general our -;inventie1g1 .-,conternplates the employment of a conventional deep freeze cabinet which is provided swithpustomar y refrigera en equipment to maintain a redllfled smpefatnre within the Cabinet. Wi in the -yczthinet ave mount a drum for .rotationig. pon-a horizontal axis. The drum is. provided. with urality pr compartments adapted to receive ,frozeneorness tibles. The compartments are arranged circuin ferentially around the drum, thereheingeplurality .of circles of .compartments laterallyl spaced fromeach other. .Aseriesof slidable lcover' .doers normally prevent ,access to .the ,compartments. The cover doors areadapted to he elea succession as each ci c e o qqn he m htv be ma va labl .ih is sm i siss r s s by a driving mechanism under the control of 2 an appropriate coin control mechanism. The hrhshesiheh i shshh i 011130118 m tm n iseeee sihle hem the q i isi A cover hh spehihe hs he s dimen i equal s he wit c he sihhhri h m y h Opened a d e P111.- Qhhs i [ma each in shs remove ihe ifossh sqlhe ble- Anothe .soh hs im s h eih h sr ha ci e s ne Pr s. .isd f a s til th dr m s .sishhed s q si 9 h he an the compartment into position for removal of the merchandise.

In th ac ompan in sl-rsw ies whic orm Pe o th ins ant s ecifica i n an wh ch ar sebe e eqhiuhsi sh her th n n which like reference numerals are used to indicate lihe sari th ri us v ews "Figure 1 is a perspective View shovving a merc andi n ma hin is; g e s hesiih es eshisi ihs 11 mbo iment o oh h eht o ehre 2 s ai sihe er se t o a i wsirsi on an en ar ed sc .sw lon th m i ir'm ih u e 1 hew 3 t s c t e ont o mec n smeis a hiiiaiihe th en n sycle and ste pin i ieure th s :sec i hsl vi w taken a n t l nes-: o issre F ure A is .s st oha wiew r w o an h la ed sc jta s heloh th lin o F ur .2 w t e a t o th mech ni m ve o clari y- Fi ure :5 is a fr gm nta y sectional ie ith a t brsken away, Q TaWJ -Q a e e sea-1e tak n al n theplane 1 71 o u e 5 F u e .6 .115 a sect on elev t on t k alon the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

iehr '7 is a iira ihe tan ction r pe tive i w tak alon th l n -J of Fi r I grew pnan nlar e scale.

.V. r part lar :v eferrh g h w t t rawihs -i. e h ersh n is imae ih s hou ed i se cabi e ind cat sehsr-s lvzh -th e en e 1 niera zz iiihe cabihe may :h e y c v t on ee f e binet ill llidfi th a se e i2- T h e e mes wit anl e ei own i s i ur 5 whic :isnomia i es-ed by a h n ed :l d

.sinssi tqsss in order to prevent rapid heat exchange and to prevent heat from flowing easily to the interior of the compartment. A drum indicated generally by the reference numeral 26 is mounted upon a horizontal axis for rotation within the compartment. The drum is formed by a shaft 28 which is of square cross section intermediate its ends. Mounted on the shaft 28 we provide a plurality of circular disks 30. The disks are spaced from each other by the desired width of the compartments. A plurality of transversely extending wires 32 pass through the disks parallel to the axis of the shaft 28. A second plurality of wires 34 pass through the disks 30 parallel to the axis of shaft 28 and spaced from the wires 32 along radial planes. The distance between a wire 32 and its corresponding wire 34 defines the depth of each compartment. The circular displacement of one wire 34 from its adjacent wire 34 defines the width of the bottom of the compartment and the distance between one wire 32 and adjacent wire 32 defines the width of the compartment at the outer end thereof. In a typical case we find that we may conveniently have twenty compartments spaced peripherally around the shaft and we may have ten circles of compartments, thus giving us a capacity of two hundred compartments. The radial boundaries of the compartments are formed by metal sheets 36 which extend radially between a wire 32 and a companion wire 34. The sheets 36 are formed with a bottom flange 38 to form the bottom of the compartment. Advantageously, as can readily be seen by reference to Figure 7, the upper portion of a sheet 36 is secured to one wire 32 and the end of its flange 38 secured to a radially adjacent inner wire 34.

The ends of shaft 28 are formed with circular portions 48, as can be seen by reference to Figure 6, which are rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 42 carried by a frame 44 which rests within the interior of the cabinet [8. The top of frame 44 is covered by a panel 46 formed with a plurality of openings 48 disposed underneath the cover opening 14. There is one opening 48 positioned over each circular row of compartments. The opening 48 is provided with a downwardly extending bafi'le 58 which surrounds the opening and prevents manual access to the compartment in front of and in back of the opening as well as to each side of the opening into adjacent circles of compartments. As can be seen by reference to Figure 5, if the lid I6 were opened a hand could be reached through the openings I4 and 48 into the compartment 35 shown directly under the opening 48. An article in compartment 35 can readily be removed manually.

Each opening 48 but th end one is adapted to be covered by a sliding cover 52, as can readily be seen by reference to Figures and '7. Each cover 52 is provided with a pair of pins 54 which extend through a guide slot 56 formed in the panel 46. One end of a spring 58 is secured to a projection 60 formed on the cover 52. The other end of the spring 58 is secured to a pin 62 carried by the panel 46. The spring normally biases each cover to move to the right, as viewed in Figures 5 and 7. We provide a latch for each cover normally holding it in closed position against the action of the spring. The latch 64 is pivoted about pin 66 carried by th frame 44. A leaf spring 68 normally biases the latch 64 to rotate in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig ure '7, which spring is adapted to bring the toe 65 of the latch 64 behind a depending portion I0 formed integrally with the cover. A camshaft 4 i2 is carried from brackets 14 supported by the frame 44. The lower end of latch 64 is formed with a depending portion 16 adapted to contact the camshaft i2 and thus limit the clockwise motion of the latch 64 under the influence of the spring 68 to position the latch correctly behind the dependent stop 16 of the cover. It is to be understood, of course, that there is a latch 64 for each cover and that there is a cover for each circular row of compartments except the first, or right-hand one. Each latch 64 is formed with a horizontally extending pin 88 which is in the path of travel of a cam 82 which is secured to the camshaft 12 for rotation therewith. There is one cam 82 for each latch 64.

The drive mechanism for the drum which will be described more fully hereinafter is adapted to rotate the drum in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 5 and '7. The end of the drum carries a projecting pin 84 which can be seen readily in Figures 6 and '7. The pin 84 is mounted near the periphery of the drum adjacent the teeth 86 of a ratchet wheel 38 which is secured to the camshaft 12 for rotation therewith. Once for each rotation of the drum the ratchet wheel 88 will be rotated through one tooth. In the case we are assuming, namely that there are ten circular rows of compartments, there will be nine cams 82, one for each row of compartments but the first. It is not necessary to provide a cover for the first or end circular row of compartments, preferably the row at the right-hand end since this is the first circular row of compartments to be made available for dispensing. The cams 82 will be displaced from each other around the camshaft 12 40, as can be seen by reference to Figure 5. In this manner successive latches 64 will be depressed to permit the covers to spring back at successive rotations of the drum. Stated differently, after the drum revolves once the first cam 82 will trip the first cover latch and make the second circular row of compartments available. After this row of compartments has been exposed successively for successive vending operations it will become exhausted, when the next compartment has been presented to the dispensing opening. On the next operation of the machine the rotation of the drum will cause the pin 84 to engage the ratchet tooth 86 of the ratchet wheel to rotate the second cam which coacts with the third row of compartments to trip the cover for the third row, thus making the first compartment of the third row available. The operation proceeds in succession until all of the covers have been tripped.

It is to be understood that the interior of the cabinet I0 is maintained at a low temperature by expanded refrigerant fluid from the refrigeration apparatus (not shown) passing through the cooling coils i I which are shown in Figures 4 and 6.

The drum shaft 28 has secured thereto for rotation therewith a Geneva wheel 96, there being one slot 92 for each compartment. In the case we are discussing, that is, for a drum having rows with twenty compartments to each row, there will be twenty slots 92 in the Geneva wheel 90.

By reference to Figure 1 it will be observed that there is a casing 9 attached to the outside of cabinet [0. The control mechanism and the transmission for the drive mechanism for the drum are housed in the casing 9.

Referring now to Figure 4, the insulated wall of the cabinet I0 is provided with a bore 94 through which the drive shaft in: 1, timing th Qdrnmisada ted. toipass. 'llhecasing ',.9 carriesta hearinsififi wh h a-drit t shaft iii-hi tot tahly mounted. A sealing. ring .98 carried by the-wall of the cabinet 10 seals one end .otthehore'fll. .The driveshaft H 1 is coupled .to a plastic coupling -L02 the other end of whichis coupled to azsecqnd .drive shaftillt. The driveshaft lfllis-inithe freezing compartment and-will be at allow-temperature. ,The plastic-coupling it; has a.,1ow .coefiicient. of heat-conduction so vthanfrost and condensation upon the externalnortion onthe drive shaft Hm Willnotiorm. .-.A;sealing ring. M14 seals the. innerend ofthe bore .9, 4.;around the plastic coupling. I02.

,. A cam Hit is keyedto theputerend .of--.s haft-.t00

.Lbyl'key. I08. The. cam is iormedwith-a .0 .with which. asprocket-wheelLIZ-is integral. ,A sprocket chainJ l4 extends-around the sprocket wheel H2 downwardlyto a drive sprocket .1l [:6 v.carrieolhythe shaft of .a motor I [8,; as roan be seen by referenceto Figure 1. "Wheneventhe motor I 18 runs it will rotate the drive shaft, tilt) through the sprocket wheel. l I 2 and at the same time rotate cam I06. The end of shaftiilil is formed with a small eccentricshaft [20 around which apawl 122 is pivoted. The pawl lZ-Znormally. engages a tooth of .a ratchet-wheellrz i. The ratchet. wheel. [.24 .is rotatably mounted upon a shaftv l23which is .carriedby a support [35 secured to thecasing .9. A spring 121 normally urges the ratchet wheelto the position shown in ,FiguremB. The ratchet .wheel may bemoved against the action .of.the :spring' to-disengage it from the .pawls. Whenever the shaft 10.0 rotates ,theeccentricshaft i 20 will oscillate the pawl I22. The arrangement is ,suchthat: for. .eachrotation of theldrive shaft. H the .pawl 122 will step the ratchet wheel I24 aroundone tooth. A stationary pawl [2.6 is adapted to prevent the ratchetwheel l24from driftingaround in a clockwisedirection .during the retraction ofv thedriving pawl 122.

It 'isto be understood thatanymdpropriate-coin control mechanism may be employed, preferably 'one which will give change. .Anappropriatecom register is one shownin copending application of 'Ghris'tian' Gabrielsen and John F.'Morr i son, Se,- r'ial-Nop166fl45, filed June'3, 1950-. The coin register forms no part of the instant specification.

:The arrangement is such that-"when coins are deposited in the coin register which 'may "be .locatedin any suitable place within casing 9,'-a circuit is made which operates the motor -118 mta-tingrthe shaftcl 0B :in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 2. The cam in rotating willcon- .ta-ct arm 128 of a switch I switch I36 is to maintain the motorenergized after-the coins have left the coin-register-and'to insure that a complete cycle of" operations will occur. The cam-H16 carries :a plurality of pins. The pins -i32 are adaptedto coactwithan arm 134 .to operate switch I36 for "an appropriate change'mechanism (not shown). The pin 138 is adapted to coact with an --arm 'Hlll :of another switch M2 for die-energizing the change maker. It is to be understood :that 'any appropriate change-makerfknown to the prior art may be operated from-switches ISG-and M2. After the cam has completed one rotation the arm I28 Willarrive at thecutout portion l us of'the-camandperl'3Il. The function of mit the circuit to bebroken-throughswitch I30,

stopping the-operationof the motor.

It will thus -'=be seen t hat when coins" are deposited -in-the coin --register-the motor, =is permitts q mn a e h fl ei hmihmesh 60 unte themhtrcltcfiafcam "h th pins tamed hrthj thenawli. Ila-vi, .stenthv m ght case we era .d ed teeth-ion. the ratchet wheel has ia each compartme retchet-whes ..tiohe -..so-this.wil .Qccunafte tm a t com rt hap en ng 4 .we ,-l:nowni the a t. cqmplet a circuit taint-im limbs-therewith by key @1415- isnin hsith aaeh willat nt. -chane l 312 makmas acountenclockwise direction thro -The ratchet. heel nan-wt err cs; mm W rwhichg eie t nw rd ytrom hfi Wli-QQL-l 4. as can be seen by reference to Fi The brack t i145 :W ic ar i the stop {pawl A26 supports switch; I48 provided with e a m J. The arm lfifl ispcsiti ned in .t, r. w at The parts art wiadvising a purchaser-that A. to ue H -is tanned on l 64 ,rotatably; supported 1 a .carriedby the framett, resurrect d ve cam- 1 68 is mountednnshaft tfightor rota- U 11 1 .andir ilcnei ummh motio the wi .The d ve .-memhe 4 :68 iiormed withcollarfiilada l edtohe engaeedzhy .theiorkcden Hi c a sh tihem mber; 18:91. vised with-a an MIL-as. can readily-h seen .hymefierence .torF eur W cn th .hen 1 .;l, 8fi mo vedi to the lef 'i h k d'rend 41,4 ,willfibte m ted to .the' righ th w shii the .drive vmcmber ts along the 'fshift 16 i. :rnis znotion .i .";m h n s tio al Bit-0 t e .driven em it-put cfaene eement with -.-the c l .9ned portions tat-of th -G e wheeL-fl -At he same time thedriving 1 pin I 36 carried it hy 1-- the ,driving ,member I58 willbe moved clear of the .netinh it to t ev hee fifl. Whe th min-iv g member is clear ,of -the. qeneva wheel the'trdrnhll-c be .'.freely rotated. qrhistenables the-c mpartments of the rows t Joeoaded- .Iti ,g be nnderstood, of course; thatzintloadir g he machine th loch 8-. s-1umockedend:th n-Khm isopene'd to give f eeaccessto thedrum. The ,bearingstz by which the drum shaft.end ;..ll0 .are rotatably rmounted are opensat the l top .so .thatvwith the Geneva. drive. ,member disengaged and the cover opened the drum can-readily. b e rem ve b insitpwa di Tog rmi th s to take place areadily;tlr e plznae; 46 upon which the sliding cover members 5 2 are mounted is piygted abouta od Eli-as can-readi y 11. 9. 6 b mic ence to Eigure-.-7.

With jthe cparts in the 7 shown in;Figu fiac ot ti ni o thed i e shaft .4112! will rotate ;:th eshaft "464 correspondingly. iI his-carries the GenevadrivermemberifiS mid a c1ockwise;. direction, as. ,viewedin, ignr 5. ,The initial rotation @Of ,me... drive member will maintain .the Geneva wheelsstationary. -,-When the driving pint! 8'5, -h0weve ..eh ages the vrniia cen sl t 92 tth mk smcmbe $18.2 w have clearedtheinverted scal1 p.,.l. 84. Thns t he Ge.- new: wheel .willjpe..under.;.thel cont l -of the drivingpin L and tlre slot s l. will ermit i t m eelte ba ismsd mse- 9li13 eng ed. po ition 555 .5

one tooth, as is well known in the art of intermittent Geneva motions. As soon as the Geneva wheel has been stepped around through its proper amplitude of motion the locking member I82 will again engage the adjacent inverted scallop I84 and lock the drum in its new position. The motion of the drum brings an adja cent compartment containing merchandise into register with the openings 48 and I4, enabling a purchaser to lift the lid I6 and remove the merchandise.

By reference to Figure it will be seen that a plurality of heating resistances 53 energized from any appropriate source of power through conductors 5| and 52 are provided. The function of the heating resistances is to prevent frost from forming on top of the sliding covers 52 which will prevent them from being urged to retracted position under the influence of espective springs 58 when the latch controlling a cover is moved clear of the depending portion of the cover.

In operation, the cover 42 is unlocked through the lock I3 and the cover opened. The hinged panel 48 supporting the sliding covers 52 is lifted upwardly pivoting around shaft 8?. During this action all of the covers, of course, will snap back, since their depending portions will be free of the latches 64. Th handle I891 is used to operate the shifting member I18 to shift the drive cam I68 to the right as viewed in Figure 6 clear of the Geneva wheel secured to the drum. The drum is now free to rotate. Frozen comestibles are loaded in the compartments in the drum. The lower portion of the drum is formed with a semicylindrical baffle adapted to keep comestibles within the compartments from falling out of them. The semicylindrical baiiie is supported in any appropriate manner from the frame 44. After the compartments are loaded with frozen comestibles the drive cam member I68 is again shifted to engage the Geneva wheel. The ratchet whee1 I24 is moved so that it will be in a position to count the number of pieces of confection carried by the drum. The pawls I26 and I22 are lifted manually to permit the ratchet wheel to be moved to its correct position, it being understood that the ratchet wheel may be provided with appropriate calibrating marks (not shown). After the drum is loaded and the ratchet wheel counter moved to its proper position and the Geneva wheel of the drum engaged with the driving cam, the hinged cover panel is moved to closed position and all of the covers moved manually to the front of the machine by hand. It is to be understood, of course, that before this is done the camshaft I2 is moved manually to bring the cams into position where they will trip the cover latches in succession, starting from the right of the machine and going toward the left. After all the slidable covers have been latched, the machine cover I2 is closed and locked. The machine is now ready for operation. Upon deposit of coins in the coin mechanism the motor I8 will be energized, driving the shaft I00 through the sprocket chain I I4. The cam I06 insures that one complete revolution of the drive shaft will occur. Each revolution of the drive shaft will step the ratchet wheel I24 around in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 2, one tooth. The drive shaft I00 will drive the shaft IOI through the coupling I92. The shaft II will rotate the shaft I64, which, through spline I'II), will drive the Geneva cam I68. This will step the drum around one compartment, bringing a compartment containing frozen comestibles under the opening I4. The hinged cover I6 is lifted by hand and the purchaser reaches in and is enabled to remove the frozen comestible. After a row of compartments has been emptied, that is, when the drum makes one complete revolution, the pin 85 will step the camshaft 12 around through one tooth of the ratchet wheel 88. This brings the first cam 82 into contact with the pin of the first cover latch which is disposed over the second row of compartments and releases the first cover, making the second row of compartments available for removal of merchandise as the articles are stepped around through the Geneva motion in successive operations. The processes are repeated and upon each complete revolution of the drum, a succeeding cover is unlatched. After the last purchase, that is, when th last compartment of the last row is brought into register with the merchandise-removing opening, the pin I44 on the ratchet wheel I24 will make contact with the member I50 to operate the switch I48 to interrupt the motor circuit and to energize an empty signal light (not shown).

It will be observed that in case of a meltdown occasioned by loss of refrigeration, the entire drum can be readily lifted out of the refrigerated compartment so that the whole interior of the compartment can be cleaned in a simple, rapid and expeditious manner.

It will be seen that we have accomplished the objects of our invention. We have provided an improved merchandising machine for frozen comestibles which has a large capacity and which is easy to load and convenient to clean. We have provided a machine for vending frozen comestibles which is inexpensive to construct and simple in. operation, the merchandise being held in compartments in a single moving drum which is stepped around by at Geneva motion.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed Without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of our claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of our claims without departing from the spirit of our invention. It is therefore to be understood that our invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a merchandising machine for frozen comestibles, an enclosed refrigerated cabinet having a top, a drum, means for mounting the drum within the cabinet for rotation about a horizontal axis, said drum being formed with a plurality of axially disposed rows of radially extending compartments, the top of the cabinet being formed with an elongated opening extending substantially parallel to the axis of the drum and having a width generally equal to the width of a drum compartment, a plurality of covers, means for mounting the covers for sliding movement within the cabinet across the elongated opening and over respective rows of drum compartments, means for biasing the covers to slide to a position clear of the longitudinal opening to permit access therethrough to a drum compartment, latches for holding the covers against the action of the biasing means in position blocking access to the drum compartment thereunder, means for intermittently rotating the drum to bring successive drum compartments into register with the elongated opening and means responsive to successive revolutions of the drum for releasing the cover latches in succession.

2. A merchandising machine as in claim 1 in which said means for intermittently rotating the drum includes a Geneva wheel mounted on the drum for rotation therewith, a Geneva cam coacting with said Geneva wheel and means for rotating the Geneva cam.

3. A merchandising machine as in claim 1 in which said means responsive to successive revolutions of the drum for releasing the cover latches in succession includes a cam shaft, a plurality of cams positioned upon said cam shaft displaced longitudinally from each other, each of said cams being radially displaced from an adjacent cam, a ratchet wheel carried by the cam and means carried by the drum adapted to engage the ratchet wheel oncev during each revolution of the drum.

4. A merchandising machine as in claim 1 in which said means for intermittently rotating the drum includes a Geneva wheel carried by the drum for rotation therewith, a shaft, means for rotating the shaft, a Geneva cam carried by the shaft for rotation therewith and for sliding movement with respect thereto and means for slidably shifting the Geneva cam into engagement and out of engagement with the Geneva wheel, the construction being such that when the Geneva cam is out of engagement, the drum may be freely rotated.

5. A merchandising machine as in claim 1 in which said means for intermittently rotating the drum includes an electric motor, a circuit for energizing the electric motor and means responsive to a predetermined rotation of the drum for interrupting the motor circuit.

6. In a merchandising machine, an enclosed cabinet formed with an elongated opening, a drum, means for mounting the drum within the cabinet for rotation about an axis extending generally parallel to said elongated opening, said drum being formed with a plurality of axially disposed rows of radially extending compartments, said elongated opening having a width generally equal to the width of a drum compartment, a plurality of covers, means for mounting the covers for sliding movement within the cabinet between the elongated opening and the respective rows of drum compartments, means for biasing the covers to slide to a position clear of the elongated opening to permit access there through to a drum compartment, latches for holding the covers against the action of the biasing means in position blocking access to the drum compartments, means for intermittently rotating the drum to bring successive drum compartments into register with the elongated opening and means responsive to successive complete revolutions of the drum for releasing the cover latches in succession.

CHRISTIAN GABRIELSEN.

WILMAR R. POST.

No references cited. 

